PACE calls on Russia to release Crimean citizen journalist Amet Suleymanov
Two PACE Rapporteurs call on the Russian authorities to release the Crimean citizen journalist Amet Suleymanov, who has been transfered from the Simferopol PTDC-2 to a Russian prison despite his health problems.
The PACE released the statement on September 4.
The General Rapporteurs on Human Rights Defenders and Whistleblowers, and on Political Prisoners, of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Emanuelis Zingeris (Lithuania, EPP/CD) and Sunna Ævarsdóttir (Iceland, SOC), have raised concerns about the health of journalist Amet Suleymanov.
"Mr Suleymanov suffers from a range of health conditions, including a serious heart problem. Although he was initially kept under house arrest, in April 2023 Mr Suleymanov was transferred to a pre-trial detention centre. We are very concerned that Mr Suleymanov’s life is being put in danger, following reports that he is being transferred to a prison in a distant part of Russia, and that he has been denied access to important medical supplies," the statement reads.
PACE urged the Russian authorities to reverse the decision to transfer Suleymanov from house arrest to a prison, ensuring that he has access to adequate medical supplies and medical attention. "We also call on the Russian government to secure Mr Suleymanov’s immediate release," the statemet says.
As IMI reported, on August 29 the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, said that Amet Suleymanov, who is in urgent need of surgery (a heart valve replacement), has been moved from the Simferopol PTDC-2 to a prison in Russia despite his health deteriorating.
On October 29, 2021, the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don announced they found citizen journalist Amet Suleymanov guilty. He was sentenced to 12 years of imprisonment under Art. 205.5 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (participation in the activities of a terrorist organization) due to alleged involvement in the Islamic organization Hizb ut-Tahrir, according to the FSB of the Russian Federation.
Amet Suleymanov is a citizen journalist for the Crimean Solidarity group who reported on the searches and detentions that Crimean Tatars have been subjected to after Russia occpuied Crimea in 2014.
Help us be even more cool!
